a ridge between two furrows; a
strip of unploughed land between two plowed areas

BAN

a royal or ecclesiastical
proclamation

BANALITIES

fees a feudal lord imposed for
the use of his property or facilities

BANE,
BAN, BAIN

[Scottish] pale or white, usually of hair

BANN

a public announcement of an
intended marriage to allow advance notice should someone desire to
protest. In medieval and colonial times, many churches would read the
banns on three consecutive Sundays prior to the marriage

BANNERET

a British rank of knight, it
represented originally a knight with the honor of leading his men into a battle
under his own banner and with rank above a Knight Bachelor . It is distinct
from Baronet. -- Jay Kotliar

BANNS

publication or posting of the
announcement of a coming marriage, a period of time before the actual marriage,
to allow advance notice to those that might have reason to protest. In most
churches, the banns were read aloud in church on three successive Sundays.

BANU

[Arabic, sons of] designation of tribe

BAPTISM
FOR THE DEAD

members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS- Mormans) have the
ceremony of Baptism for the Dead, performed by living individuals on behalf of
the dead family members. These living individuals represent the person for whom
the baptism is being performed. The baptism ceremony is simple and dignified
and not much different from the baptism performed when a living individual
joins the church. Baptisms for the dead are performed only in the temples of
the church.

BAPTIZAVI

[Latin I baptized]

BAR

[Syriac] son of

BAR
MITZVAH

A Jewish celebration for a boy when he becomes 13 years old
and is accepted into the congregation

BAR
SINISTER

[heraldic] a misnomer for bend
sinister, coming from the translation of the French equivalent barresinistre

BARBICAN

the gateway defending the
entrance to a castle

BARD

minstrel or poet

BARON

a feudal title, below earl/count in
rank, originally signifying just "companion to the king", but later
assuming territorial responsibilities. In England, barons are designated by writ of Parliament

BARONETCY

[Brit.] an hereditary dignity (but not peerage) created by
James I to produce revenue, the holder of which is accorded the prefix of 'Sir'
and the suffix of 'Baronet' to his name. The suffix is invariably abbreviated
in correspondence, usually 'Bt' but the more
old-fashioned 'Bart.' is sometimes preferred. in order
of preference, a Baronet ranks below all ranks of peerage, but above all other
dignities.

BARONY
BY WRIT

[Eng.] assumption of the
honor based on the King's writ of summons to attend Parliament. At first, the honor was only
temporal to the session served, but after the 14th C., the writ was considered
to be permanent and hereditary.

BARRISTER

lawyer

BARRY

[Heraldic] a series of bars

BASE
BORN

born out of wedlock

BASILEUS

[Byzantine] initially from the first century on a prince,
later became "king", especially in the eastern provinces. Later
the title was reserved only for the Eastern Roman and the Persian emperors

BASTION

a small tower on a castle wall

BATON
SINISTER

[heraldic] a bend sinister usually
one-forth the size of a bend sinister. Sometimes only
referred to as Baton, it also indicates illegitimacy

BATTEN

the sloping part of a castle
curtain wall

BATTLEMENT

a narrow wall built along the
walk wall of a castle to protect defenders

BEG,
BEY

[Turkish] lord or prince

BEND

[heraldic] One of
the ordinaries.
It is formed of two lines, and is drawn from the dexter chief (upper left) to the sinister
base point (lower right) of the escutcheon.
It generally occupies one-fifth of the field; but formerly it was one-fifth
only when plain, and one-third when charged.

BEND
SINISTER

[heraldic] a slash to the left held
to signify bastardy; a hint or proof of illegitimate birth.

[Colonial U.S.]in
colonial English America, church wardens
were empowered to bind out, contract into servitude, any bastard, or orphan or
other person under 30, so that they might not become an economic burden on the
church parish

BINT

[Arabic] daughter of

BIRELE

a cup-bearer

BIRTH
CERTIFICATE

documentation about one's birth.

BIRTHRIGHT

In New England, the eldest son received a double portion of
the estate, it was called his birthright. If you should find a person has
conveyed a 1/7 interest in the father's estate, you may conclude there were six
surviving children, each of whom received a 1/7 of the estate, except for the
eldest son, who received a 2/7 or double portion.

BLACK
CANKER

[Archaic] diphtheria

BLACK
DEATH

bubonic plague. A disease prevalent
in the middle ages, but still occurring in third world countries, transmitted
by fleas from rats.

BLACK
DUTCH

·Sephardic
Jews who married Dutch protestants to escape the Inquisition, many of their
descendants later moving to the Americas, the "black" referring to
their dark hair and complexion;

·Descendents of marriages between Dutch women and Portuguese soldiers
stationed in the Netherlands as part of Spanish forces in the Spanish-Dutch
wars 1555-1609.

a small landholder, the serf
class between cottars and villeins. They
held just enough land to support their family, about five acres, and were
required to work as part of the lord's demesne.

BORH

surety

BORHBRYCE

breach of surety

BORDURE

[Heraldic] border

BOROUGH

[orig. Anglo-Saxon] a
self-governing incorporated town, larger than a village. The term is common in
the Northeastern U.S.

BOUND
OUT

Apprenticed or indentured out. Most often the child
was bound to a person in the community in the skilled trades. In
return for the labor that the child provided they were given food, shelter and
(sometimes) clothing. The families of the children being bound out were poor
and in many cases the children were orphans or the father of the family had
died and the mother could not provide for the children. The court
appointed an Overseer of the Poor who looked into these cases and reported to
the court.

BOUNTY
LAND

public land given by the government
to induce young men to join the military, or as a reward for fighting.
Much land in the Midwest (U.S.) was given to the veterans of the Revolutionary
War as a reward and payment for their time in the war.

BOUNTY
LAND WARRANT

a gift of bounty land due to a
person entitled by military service, or to his heirs or assigns

BOURGEOIS

[French] an address of formality or politeness in France
from the 16th C., usually for a non-noble person. However, a person addressed
as NN, bourgeois de [place] might be a noble man who was involved in town
affairs and wanted to keep the title bourgeois de [place] to maintain certain
tax breaks.

BOVATE

[Latin bos,
ox] a measure of land also known as an oxgang. It was 1/8 of a ploughgate (or as much land as one ox could plough in a
year). A bovatevaryied
in acreage from 8 to 18 acres, depending on how arable the land was.

BRAND
IRON

the cob irons or fire dogs which
confine the brands on an open hearth.

BRAS

[Welsh] fat

BRIDEWEALTH

goods and services transferred
from a groom's family to a brides family

BROTBAN

bread money

BROTHER

a male sibling, or a half brother, stepbrother, brother-in-law, husband of a
sister-in-law, or a Brother in Church. Sometimes it is also used to show close
friendship.

to sleep in the same bed while
fully clothed, a practice commonly practiced by engaged couples in early New
England It also houses an extensive collection of written manuscripts including
family histories, local histories, indexes, periodicals, and aids to help in
genealogical research

[English] a freeman in a medieval town holding a burgage, a piece of land. Later in Virginia, the
term came to designate substantial wealthy landowners. The legislative
house there became known as the House of Burgesses, replaced after the
Revolution by the House of Delegates. Brent Tarter, LVA -- "From the
middle of the seventeenth century until ratification of the Constitution of
1830, every county in Virginia was entitled to elect two members of the lower
house of the assembly, the House of Burgesses through 1775 and the House of
Delegates from 1776 through 1830. At those elections, each adult white male who
owned enough property in the county could vote for two candidates. The cities
of Williamsburg and Norfolk each elected one burgess or delegate, and until the
Constitution of 1776 went into effect the president and professors of the
College of William and the residents of Jamestown each elected one burgess.
Cities that were incorporated after the American Revolution then gained the
right to return one or more delegates."

BURGHER

a town resident with full
rights and privileges of the town

BURGHRITE

jurisdiction over a town

BURH

a castle or dwelling

BUTTERY

[fr.
French le botelerie] a store room for beer,
wine and other staples

BYRBAN

beer money

BYZANT

a gold coin, the Byzantine solidus dating from about 500 AD and used
until the 13th Century